Without the gods, how would I sing?' I asked. With your own voice,' he said.

It's only when you're forbidden to talk about the future that you suddenly realize how much the future normally occupies the present.

I started with poetry because it was direct, immediate, and short. It was the ecstasy of striking matches in the dark.

I think a lot of people, when they read about a woman who acknowledges her sexuality and her feelings, get really scared. They say they want to be fearless, but in reality they're terrified. If they acknowledge their deepest feelings, they might have to change their lives.

I think poetry is the best thing I do. It's certainly the purest. I seem to switch gears without too much trouble. Non-fiction is in many ways the easiest to write.

I tried to keep myself away from him by using con words like "fidelity" and "adultery", by telling myself that he would interfere with my work, that I had him I'd be too happy to write. I tried to tell myself I was hurting Bennett, hurting myself, making a spectacle of myself. I was. But nothing helped. I was possessed. The minute he walked into a room and smiled at me, I was a goner.

I believe that there's a force of life in the universe, and that when we're writing or making music or painting, we're likely to connect with that flow.